Who's a dirty girl?

We had a thunderstorm and heavy downpour of rain. I got to the paddock to find this:

Thanks!
Good old Possum, never one to turn down the opportunity to have a wallow in a mud bath. She must have overheard my intention to clip her this weekend and thought this might foil those plans. Now she will get a bath as well!

Actually it doesn't look as bad in the photos but you do get an idea, and also an inkling of how fluffy she is at the moment. That is not her usual summer coat, as normally she has a lovely TB-like coat (from her Grandaddy). I'm not sure if this is another part of ageing, to not want to lose the winter woolies completely. It has been suggested that it might be the start of Cushing's Disease, but I will have to do some more research on that.

Log- rode for an hour in saddle. Walked around orchard, along the road, then some flatwork and a little jumping practise. Both of us are horribly unfit, so it wasn't very pretty. But I think we achieved a bit of good work with some nice "long and low" phases.

One month till Christmas Eve!

Wow, just four weeks to the Big Day. I had better get organised and figure out presents, wine, etc etc.

I haven't even thought about what I want to put on my suggestion list. But there were a few things in the latest catalogue:

• Roma padded jacket and saddle bag (already have the boot bag)
• IRH Pro Velvet helmet
• Dublin Airflow Body Protector

Of course, I do have other interests apart from horses. There is a permanently growing list of books. I wouldn't say no to a new laptop. Not to mention the ute for towing the float. (Well, a girl can dream, can't she?)

LOG: Walk roadwork for an hour + in bareback pad. Still spooky but controllable. Worked on relaxation and keeping her head down. She didn't spot the llamas, so that's a plus! Some short bursts of trotting (no stirrups!) - next time bitless, bareback and barefoot!

Monday

New saddle is a Wintec 500 dressage (red gullet).

{Photos here}


Hopefully this will give a better fit as it is a better size for my bum and has nice wide panels and channel. The problem is my little horse has a bit of a short back, so to get a saddle that fits me, often is too long for her. I like the Wintecs as you can adjust the gullet size as your horse changes shape, and they are so easy to look after. My beloved Pro Dressage is too small for me and I miss it so, as it is amazingly comfortable and puts me in a great position. You could almost think I can ride when you see me in it!

So we have an appointment with the saddle fitter in a couple of weeks. I will continue to ride her with the special pad, and in the bareback pad, and also do our exercises and massage. Hopefully this will result in a happy horse, good saddle fit and one relieved owner.

Although, judging by the 30 minutes it took to catch her, she might be in some pain that needs more than a massage...

LOG: Took half an hour to catch her. So she got lots of trotting about (equivalent to lunging?) I got a walk in the fresh air and that was enough for a Monday. I pulled her mane while she was nice and warm. Still spooky in the yard, won't eat her hardfeed. Will try sugarbeet next.

Bareback!

We now have a bareback pad - second hand from my friends at the RDA. No excuses now for having to use the saddle when she's a bit sore. This is the Best Friends pad - I thoroughly recommend them.

Log: Wed 18th
Rode in bareback pad + bridle.
45 mins of slow, long and low walking around orchard.
Started out spooky with high head carriage and rushing. Gradually calmed down, got some nice stretching downwards. Did need constant half halts to slow her as the natural inclination is to walk out quickly.
Hock still puffy and warm. Finished with leg stretches and tummy lifts.
Note - need to do more massage.

Long and low

The theory is: slow feet, slow brain.

In order to get my horse to concentrate, and not to spook and bugger off, I need to get her to walk s l o w l y... Here was me, thinking "well, it's fitness work, so if she marches out, it's all good" and we thunder around the 7 km block in record time. Turns out this was just making her spookier and more stupid. No wonder we experienced ghosts the other day!

So our goal is to do slow walk, and get her head down below her wither. Not too easy, when your horse's natural inclination is to be a giraffe. Okay, so she's a short 154 cm giraffe, but the neck extension can be pretty darn impressive. This of course, makes her back go hollow and then she drags along on her forehand, and I've got a great photo of us doing this but I'm too embarassed to post it here.

We made some good progress towards this in our lesson. Our attempts to do some work towards our dressage test were foiled by a hot and puffy hock. Probably from Monday's thundering around the block, and attempting to canter on the road! So we kept it short and simple, all at the walk, concentrating on getting that head lower and the back higher so she is using it more correctly. I had some observers (the other grazers) who mentioned that I didn't get much of a lesson. In actual fact, it was a great lesson, and I learned a lot - having one of those A ha! moments. We made some progress in getting both of us to understand how to search for the contact. I, of course, stuff it up by dropping my outside rein and then she pings back up. But slowly, slowly, slowly we will get there.

PS got a pep talk from my coach. Not so depressed about my riding now but MAN! this takes a long time to get anywhere. And we are entered for the Intro class at the ODE, aiming to do a great dressage test and rebuild our confidence.

Log: Tues 17th Lesson with H, but hot hock so only walking, long & low stretching. Some massage after, and 10 mins cold hosing on hock and feet.

Riding with the Black Dog

I have struck a dark patch of depression about my riding. The last couple of times that I have ridden, I have ended up feeling hopeless, useless and tearful. I don't feel like I have improved over the past few years and wonder why I bother? My horse is clearly unhappy - doesn't want to be caught, sidles away from the saddle and just isn't moving straight. I can't sort my trot diagonals out and it is a crapshoot what canter lead we get.

I don't know why this has happened, but as I have a lesson this afternoon, will have a heart to heart with my coach. Maybe it is time to give it a rest and just do some other things for a while?

EDITED: It occured to me that this is a great place to note the work we do.
Monday 16th - 20 mins flat work (not successful- wrong bend, resistant)
45 mins roadwork - maniacal. Longlands/Riverslea/Davis/Norton roads. Flat out trot, broke to canter, spooky. Also met new llama neighbours!